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00:00Dude, you gotta check out the Sabu documentary, so do it, it's available now at patreon.com slash WrestleTalk.
00:09While you're there, go ahead and sign up, check out the director's commentary with Joe Clark,
00:14a shoot interview with Luke and Ali, and the whole damn show, me, RVD.
00:22Are WWE using AI to generate their storylines?
00:26Why Sami Zayn lost the United States Championship, my review of an excellent AEW WrestleDream 2025, and more.
00:34I'm Luke Owen and this was the WrestleTalk News.
00:40I make videos for YouTube for a living, so do you know what I hear a lot about?
00:45AI.
00:46Whether it's in thumbnails, captions, or the AI slop that has made YouTube shorts this bizarre corner of the internet filled with the most rotten of brain rot.
00:53So really, it was only just a matter of time before there was a story in the WrestleTalk News about AI making its presence felt in pro wrestling.
01:02On Friday, WWE made headlines following a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter,
01:06which wrote Cyrus Kalsari was hired last month as the new Senior Director of Creative Strategy.
01:11He was introduced to the creative staff by Paul Levesque.
01:14In introducing him, Levesque said that Kalsari would lead WWE's transition to AI-based storytelling
01:20and integrate AI into creative services like video and graphics.
01:24He said this shift is inevitable when it comes to creative in pro wrestling.
01:29He adds Kalsari said he would both manage AI storytelling and be a liaison to the White House
01:34as Levesque is taking on more duties in politics in some form.
01:37Meltzer goes on to say that WWE has a contract with Writer AI, a platform that has been fed WWE content to come up with new storylines,
01:46which one person close to the situation described as bad.
01:49Including one where Bobby Lashley, who the AI tool thought was still with WWE,
01:53would get a new gimmick where he's obsessed with Japanese culture and history.
01:56Meltzer writes that the feeling is, once the bugs are worked out,
01:59that AI will begin to have a major impact on storyline direction.
02:02Naturally, this caused quite a stir amongst wrestling fans, from those who were super angry about it,
02:07to those who will defend the company until their dying breath,
02:10to the more measured in the middle response that AI is useful for productivity,
02:15but should not be used as a replacement for creative thinking.
02:19On Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer said the story was misinterpreted online,
02:22and that this AI tool is being used for productivity,
02:26saying that WWE were really using it to find out things like,
02:29when were the last time these two people feuded?
02:31It's not writing storylines, it's a tool to help writers write storylines quicker.
02:36And like he wrote in the newsletter, it's being used in the video and graphics department,
02:40which isn't all that uncommon anymore.
02:42Now, with all due respect, Dave, you did write.
02:45Levesque said that Kausari would lead WWE's transition to AI-based storytelling,
02:49which might be why aggregators and people reading the aggregation,
02:52rather than the full news item itself,
02:54might think you were saying that WWE were using AI to write storylines.
02:58Furthermore, you gave an example of one by writer AI,
03:01and while writer AI is not Cyrus Kausari and you never said they were,
03:06I can see how people misinterpreted your story.
03:09And Fightful Select have backed up Meltzer's clarification,
03:12writing,
03:12there have actually been AI tools at the disposal of the creative team for years.
03:16However, it's mostly used as a glorified creative assistant to look up things like,
03:20the last time two wrestlers had a match.
03:22One source familiar with the process said that it would be more of a,
03:25not starting with a blank page approach rather than write the show for us.
03:29They add that those they spoke to in creative said that they only use the tool for a few minutes,
03:33and because they work such insane hours,
03:36are excited for AI to aid them in some of their tasks.
03:39Fightful writes,
03:40specifically,
03:40we were told that AI is not replacing the creative team.
03:44And one top talent reached out to Fightful to say that they took exception to the idea
03:48that AI would replace writers in WWE.
03:51Last Friday,
03:52Smackdown also saw the latest challenger in Sami Zayn's United States Open Challenge,
03:56and after weekly bangers with the likes of Ray Phoenix and Javon Evans,
03:59the gimmick has come to an end,
04:01as Zayn lost the title to a returning Ilya Dragunov.
04:04It was an awesome match,
04:05but I was really surprised to see the Open Challenge series end so quickly,
04:08especially because it's really getting over with the crowds.
04:11But it seems like we can't blame AI for this one,
04:13as according to Bodyslam's Patreon,
04:15sources indicate that Sami Zayn made the call to have Ilya Dragunov dethrone him
04:19for the United States Championship.
04:21Well, my sources tell me that you should head on over to Patreon.com forward slash WrestleTalk
04:26because you can watch the excellent,
04:28savvy documentary over there right now at the $6.50 tier.
04:32If you upgrade to the $11.50 tier,
04:33you can watch an exclusive shoot interview with the film's director,
04:36Joe Clark,
04:37and producer Rob Van Dam,
04:38conducted by myself and Oli Davis,
04:40as well as an exclusive director's commentary track for all of us millennial nerds
04:44who missed DVD bonus features.
04:46And with all of that out of the way,
04:47it's now time for my review of AEW WrestleDream 2025,
04:51which had a kickoff show that saw the Deathriders beat Roderick Strong and the Conglomeration
04:54in a fun eight-man tag that got the crowd hot,
04:57Eddie Kingston and Hook beat the frat house,
04:58this is not a good use of Eddie Kingston if you ask me,
05:01and Harley Cameron and Willow Nightingale beat Megan Bain and Penelope Ford.
05:04The pre-show was also supposed to have FTR vs. Jet Speed,
05:07which it did,
05:08but AEW did that thing I've wanted a wrestling company to do for ages.
05:12It went over the pre-show into the main card.
05:15The idea of a pre-show is to convince people on the fence about buying the pay-per-view
05:19to buy the pay-per-view.
05:21This can be done through promo segments, hype videos and interviews,
05:24but can also be done with wrestling.
05:26If you liked this quality wrestling,
05:28buy the pay-per-view because you'll see more quality wrestling.
05:31So the idea is you're enjoying the first few minutes of FTR and Jet Speed,
05:34so now you call up your cable provider,
05:36or however it is you order pay-per-views in 2025,
05:39to see the conclusion and get the rest of the show.
05:41Plus, it gave an awesome visual as FTR and Jet Speed brawled
05:44while the opening show fireworks went off.
05:46It created a rabid atmosphere amongst the crowd who were on fire for the rest of this great match.
05:50FTR got the win when Stoke hooked Mike Bailey's leg during a pin.
05:53The great action continued in something that doesn't happen a lot in AEW,
05:57a women's feud that culminates in a pay-per-view match that isn't based around a title,
06:01but just the bitterness they have towards each other.
06:03Jamie Hayter and Teckler's feud began before July's All-In,
06:06but injuries to Hayter delayed the match until now,
06:08but I'd argue it was worth the wait.
06:10Teckler is so cool and is a great addition to the women's roster in AEW,
06:14and this felt like the Hayter that we've been missing since she returned in her Daphne Blake era.
06:18Hayter hit the Hayterade to get the win and celebrated with Queen Amenada,
06:21while the other two-thirds of the Triangle of Madness watched from the stage,
06:24signalling that this isn't over and will continue in blood and guts.
06:28Looking at the online reaction for the show,
06:29the consensus appears to be that the Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express was the match of the night,
06:34which is fairly understandable.
06:36They went for over 20 minutes, and it was non-stop from the get-go it.
06:39These four men have insane chemistry together.
06:42There was perhaps one too many kick-out near-falls for my taste,
06:45but this was an exceptional tag-team match.
06:47Jurassic Express got the win, earning themselves a cool $500,000,
06:51which continues the Bucks' downward spiral.
06:53They even had a joke at the start of the match,
06:54where the Bucks were so broke their account was declined for an entrance.
06:58And this fall to the bottom is likely what will get them back with Kenny Omega,
07:01who ran down for the save as the Don Callis family attacked Jurassic Express after the match.
07:05Omega pleaded with the Bucks to join his side,
07:08but they were too dejected and sad in their loss and lack of money.
07:12Earning themselves a shot at the Trios Championships this Wednesday on Dynamite,
07:15the Hurt Syndicate beat The Demand in a decent Tornado tag.
07:18Not too much to write home about this one.
07:20I actually preferred the hardcore match they had on Dynamite,
07:22but the finish was really cool.
07:24It came down to Ricochet being the only man standing for his team
07:27against all three members of the Hurt Syndicate,
07:30which is not a great place to be if you're Ricochet,
07:32and his face showed that,
07:33so Bishop Khan pulled him out of the ring and took his place
07:36to fight valiantly before falling to a Lashley Spear.
07:39It made Bishop Khan look awesome,
07:42and the best thing you can say about this feud
07:43is that it has made GOA feel like a huge part of the AEW tag team scene.
07:48Look, I really liked Carl Fletcher vs Mark Briscoe,
07:51or you could even say it was a banger.
07:54I just don't think it needed to go nearly 25 minutes.
07:57The work was great because both men are great,
07:59and they did a great job in making me feel that Mark was going to get the big win,
08:02so that's great,
08:03but I also feel it just went longer than was necessary.
08:07Fletcher won with the corner brainbuster,
08:09and Mark was consoled by his teammates afterwards.
08:11What I could have done a lot more of, on the other hand,
08:13though, was Chris Statlander defending the Women's World Championship against Toni Storm.
08:17This had a lot of expectations set against it,
08:19and, I'd argue, it exceeded those expectations.
08:22Both women worked together brilliantly, and I loved the finish.
08:25The Statlander had Storm in an armbar, but Storm just wouldn't tap out,
08:28so Chris picked her up and destroyed her with Saturday Night Fever,
08:31a great match that also did a lot to establish Statlander as the top of this division.
08:36And speaking of being at the top,
08:38Ultimo Monet came out to celebrate with her TBS championship,
08:42upstaging Chris Statlander and laying out an open challenge for any champion in the back.
08:47This brought out Mina Shirakawa, who was the interim ROH Women's TV Champion,
08:51or at least was,
08:52until Monet won the belt from her in another match that I felt went longer than it needed to.
08:56Like the Brisco match, they did make me buy into the idea that Mina might win,
08:59so that's a big tick in the win column,
09:01but I think you could have achieved the same thing with about six minutes shaved off.
09:05And if that extra belt wasn't enough for Monet,
09:07she also won the That's It Back to Winnipeg Women's Championship from Jodie Threat
09:10at their Rumble in the Butt show yesterday.
09:12And she could add more to her collection as Statlander stole Monet's spotlight after the match,
09:16and Monet cut a promo on Statlander later,
09:18signaling that she's coming for the Women's World Championship once again.
09:22Brodido vs Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshiita of the Don Callis family
09:25was simply a bonkers match.
09:27There are way too many highlights to cover,
09:30but it's worth mentioning one in particular,
09:32as I never thought I'd be sat here writing out these words
09:35in a WrestleTalk News script,
09:36Kazuchika Okada did the Macarena while flipping the bird.
09:40Okada accidentally hit Takeshiita with the Rainmaker,
09:42but it seemed like he minded it too much,
09:43though he probably should have done,
09:44as it led to him being double teamed by Brodido.
09:47Just like on Dynamite,
09:48Bandido couldn't hit the 21plex because of his bad wing,
09:50but Brody bigged him up with a keep fighting mantra,
09:53and that got him all fired up to hit a one-armed 21plex
09:56to pin Okada and retain the tag titles.
09:58A superb finish to a superb match.
10:02While I understand everyone's raving about the Bucks in Jurassic Express,
10:05I personally thought this one was better.
10:07On a night of Match of the Year contenders,
10:09this was yet another one.
10:10Rene spoke with Tony Storm and Mina Shirakawa backstage,
10:12and while they have both lost everything,
10:14they still have each other.
10:16Fightful Psych report that they will be teaming together
10:18for the Women's Tag Team Championships,
10:19the brackets for which will be announced this week on Dynamite.
10:22Hangman Adam Page and Samoa Joe had a great
10:24Hoss-type Pokemon-style world title match
10:26that some might describe as a slobberknocker,
10:29because these two battered the absolute piss out of each other,
10:33and I got myself fired up when Page himself got fired up
10:35and shouted,
10:36Let's go, mother fluffer!
10:38I mean, obviously, he didn't say fluffer,
10:40he said something else.
10:41Page hit three consecutive buckshots to get the win
10:43and proved that he is the man around here
10:45and is worthy of being the champion of the world.
10:48So in the post-match, the Ops turned heel by laying him out
10:52and Joe gave Page, the muscle buster, onto the title.
10:55I don't know how I feel about the Ops turning heel.
10:58Look, I'm all for Joe and Page continuing this feud
11:00because it's awesome,
11:01I'm just not sure how much the AEW audience
11:03is going to boo a group with Samoa Joe, Power House Hobbs
11:06and Shibata in it.
11:08They're too cool and not in a Grandmaster Sexy way.
11:11And with them defending their trios championships
11:12this Wednesday against the Hurt Syndicate,
11:14I am expecting to see a title switch with some Page shenanigans,
11:17which would mean their first match as heels
11:19will see them lose the belts.
11:21With that said, this was a cool angle
11:23and one that I did not see coming.
11:25And the main event, as it should have been,
11:27was the I quit match between Jon Moxley and Darby Allin.
11:30Given the things that these two have done to each other
11:32since Forbidden Door, including but not limited to,
11:35teasing a Molotov cocktail,
11:37they had a big hill to climb in terms of expectations
11:39for this blow-off.
11:40And in the end, it was fairly tame.
11:43Like, I get it, Darby took a beating
11:45and they did gross stuff with fingernails
11:47and that thing with the cattle prod.
11:48But the big spot of the match,
11:49Claudio launching Darby from the ring
11:51through the announcers table notwithstanding,
11:53was the Death Riders attempting to drown Darby Allin
11:56in a fish tank.
11:58I really enjoyed the Cage match of Forbidden Door.
12:01I really enjoyed the Coffin match at All Out.
12:04But I guess this is where I get off the train,
12:07not clutching my pearls like Sarah Stock is on Twitter
12:09and shouting,
12:10won't somebody think of the children?
12:12I just think,
12:13it's all a bit too silly.
12:15This isn't cool like Hangman and Swerve
12:16in their brutal matches.
12:17This is just,
12:18I don't know,
12:19silly, I guess.
12:21He tried to drown him in a small fish tank.
12:23And the thing that solidifies the silliness for me
12:26is that the bit of the match that got to the loudest reaction
12:28was the return of Sting.
12:30It's a good lesson for wrestling
12:31that you don't always need to do mad hardcore spots
12:33when you can do something as simple
12:35as have an old man in face paint
12:36with a baseball bat show up.
12:38Darby's comeback following Old Man Sting
12:39was great and he forced Mox to say
12:41I quit while he was in the Scorpion Deathlock,
12:43supposedly in the glass shards from the fish tank,
12:45but that didn't quite translate to the screen.
12:47Some have called the finish anticlimactic
12:49and I can see why.
12:50But overall,
12:51while I had some quibbles with the length,
12:53giggity,
12:53I will not complain about the girth,
12:55giggity.
12:55The overall quality of WrestleDream was insanely high.
12:58AEW's had a great 2025
13:00and it's a testament to the strength of the roster
13:02that they're doing this without Osprey,
13:04Swerve, Jay White,
13:05and Bryan Danielson.
13:06Now head on over to Patreon
13:07to check out that Sabu documentary
13:09and click the video on screen right now
13:11to watch the latest episode
13:12of the WrestleTalk podcast
13:13where Oli and I talk about
13:14the big creative changes within WWE
13:17following Seth Rollins' unfortunate injury.